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Wall Street Journal
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Wes Moore Realizes Slavery Reparations Is Yesterday's Fad
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore did fellow Democrats a favor last week when he vetoed a bill creating a commission to study slavery reparations. He's taking flak from the left, but the party ought to be thanking him. Mr. Moore, the nation's only black governor, said in a statement accompanying his decision that reparations already have been researched to exhaustion. 'I will always protect and defend the full history of African Americans in our state and country,' he wrote. 'But in light of the many important studies that have taken place on this issue over nearly three decades, now is the time to focus on the work itself.'
Fox News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Maryland's first Black governor blocks reparations bill, disappointing fellow Democrats
The nation's only sitting Black governor vetoed reparations legislation, dealing a blow to fellow Democrats and emphasizing his preference to "focus on the work itself" rather than form commissions. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore vetoed SB 587, legislation sponsored by state Sen. C. Anthony Muse, D-Forest Heights, that would have established the Maryland Reparations Commission. The commission would have been tasked with providing recommendations by 2027 "relating to appropriate benefits to be offered to African Americans impacted by slavery and historic inequality." Moore, however, did not issue his veto in any sort of opposition to the overall idea. "I applaud the legislature's work on this bill, and I thank the Black Caucus for their leadership," Moore said in his veto message. "We have moved in partnership with leaders across the state to uplift Black families and address racial disparities in our communities. That is the context in which I've made this difficult decision." Moore took issue with the potential for more bureaucracy that the resolution would bear. "[N]ow is not the time for another study," he said, citing other recent commissions established, including the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission. "Now is the time for continued action that delivers results for the people we serve." Seen as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful, Moore said he will always defend the history of African Americans in Maryland and focus on narrowing the "racial wealth gap," increasing minority homeownership and "closing foundational disparities." Maryland itself has a mixed history when it comes to slavery, the Civil War and the treatment of African Americans. The state hosts the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, connecting important towns and sites on the Eastern Shore and into Delaware, where Tubman, her aligned families and groups aided runaway slaves on their way to the relative safety of the North. Its position as an often South-friendly state just north of Washington, D.C., also complicated its position during the Civil War. John Wilkes Booth, the actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, hailed from Bel Air, and his escape from Washington after the assassination led him through Confederate-friendly southern Maryland before crossing the Potomac into Virginia. Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who abetted Booth and his colleagues after Lincoln's murder, housed them at his property near Leonardtown. Booth felt uncomfortable enough, however, in postwar Maryland that he fled to Virginia -- where he was eventually surrounded and killed by U.S. Marshals at a barn whose foundation now sits unmarked in the middle of the U.S. 301 parkway through Fort A.P. Hill's grounds. Maryland's legislative Black Caucus also released a statement Friday expressing their disappointment with Moore's veto. "At a time when the White House and Congress are actively targeting Black communities, dismantling diversity initiatives, and using harmful coded language, Governor Moore had a chance to show the country and the world that here in Maryland we boldly and courageously recognize our painful history and the urgent need to address it." "Instead, the state's first Black governor chose to block this historic legislation that would have moved the state toward directly repairing the harm of enslavement."
New York Times
18-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Maryland Governor Vetoes Reparations Bill
Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland has vetoed legislation that sought to make recommendations on how to remedy the harms caused by slavery and racial discrimination, a notable setback in the movement for reparations delivered by the nation's only sitting Black governor. The move on Friday sets Mr. Moore apart from other Democratic governors who have approved similar measures in recent years and comes as the party grapples with the role that identity politics played in its widespread electoral losses last year. The bill would have created a commission to research how many Maryland residents have ancestors who were enslaved in the state and recommend reparations that could have included formal apologies, monetary compensation, property tax rebates, college tuition waivers or assistance buying a home, among other possibilities. Calling it a 'difficult decision,' Mr. Moore said he vetoed the bill because the state had sufficiently studied the legacy of slavery. 'The scholarship on this topic is both vast in scope and robust in scale,' he wrote in a veto message. 'While I appreciate the work that went into this legislation, I strongly believe now is not the time for another study. Now is the time for continued action that delivers results for the people we serve.' Mr. Moore said he wanted to work toward eliminating racial disparities in areas such as wealth, homeownership, education and food security, and would introduce legislation next year to address 'barriers that have walled off Black families in Maryland.' In an interview with The Washington Post, Mr. Moore also said he was prioritizing legislation to help the state adjust to federal funding cuts by the Trump administration. The bill was a priority for the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, which issued a scathing statement after the veto noting that their statehouse is 'less than a mile from the Annapolis City Dock — one of the nation's earliest and most high-traffic ports of enslavement.' 'At a time when the White House and Congress are actively targeting Black communities, dismantling diversity initiatives and using harmful coded language, Governor Moore had a chance to show the country and the world that here in Maryland we boldly and courageously recognize our painful history and the urgent need to address it,' the statement said. 'Instead, the state's first Black governor chose to block this historic legislation that would have moved the state toward directly repairing the harm of enslavement.' The bill had been passed by an overwhelming majority, and the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland hinted that it might override Mr. Moore's veto, saying that 'the legislature will have the final say.' The legislation was modeled after similar measures in California and Illinois, which were signed into law amid the wave of racial justice activism that swept the nation after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd in 2020. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill in 2023 that made New York the third state to study reparations. Like Mr. Moore, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California and Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois are also considered potential presidential candidates in 2028, which could make their support for reparations measures a point of debate in the potential field of Democratic contenders. Polling shows that Americans generally oppose the idea of reparations, though views diverge among racial groups. In a Pew Research Center survey in 2021, 68 percent of Americans said that the descendants of people enslaved in the United States should not be repaid in some way, a feeling overwhelmingly held by those who were white, Asian or Hispanic. Among Black Americans, though, 77 percent said they supported reparations. In California, 59 percent of voters opposed cash reparations in a 2023 poll by the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. California's reparations effort has rolled out gradually and been rocked by numerous internal conflicts among Democrats. A commission created by the 2020 law produced a study that calculated reparations for health disparities, housing discrimination, mass incarceration and other damaging impacts that flowed from slavery. It deemed that an older Black Californian would be eligible for $1.2 million in reparations — a figure that applied statewide would amount to hundreds of billions of dollars, more than the state's entire budget. The California Legislature has never taken up a bill to consider cash reparations, instead embracing other recommendations that cost far less. Last year, it passed a bill issuing a formal apology for the state's complicit role in slavery and other policies to improve nutrition and career training.
Washington Post
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Supporters of a bill to study reparations for slavery urge Maryland Gov. Moore to sign the measure
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Supporters of a measure to create a commission to study potential reparations for slavery in Maryland rallied by the governor's residence on Friday, calling on Gov. Wes Moore to sign the legislation. Speakers at the rally said they were optimistic Maryland's first Black governor would sign the bill, but they wanted to underscore how significant the legislation is to them, days before Moore's fourth bill signing ceremony and possibly the last of the year.
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Supporters of a bill to study reparations for slavery urge Maryland Gov. Moore to sign the measure
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Supporters of a measure to create a commission to study potential reparations for slavery in Maryland rallied by the governor's residence on Friday, calling on Gov. Wes Moore to sign the legislation. Speakers at the rally said they were optimistic Maryland's first Black governor would sign the bill, but they wanted to underscore how significant the legislation is to them, days before Moore's fourth bill signing ceremony and possibly the last of the year. State Sen. C Anthony Muse, who sponsored the measure, emphasized that it only provides for a study — not 'a mandate to make anyone do anything.' 'When is it the wrong time to study something? We need to study it, and we need to do it now, and we're asking again in this context and especially in the time in which we are living now in this country: sign the bill and make it happen,' said Muse, a Democrat from the suburbs of the nation's capital. Moore, a Democrat who is the nation's only Black governor currently in office, has repeatedly noted the lingering impact of racism when asked about the legislation. But he has yet to say publicly whether he would sign the bill. 'I have said and long stated that the history of racism in this state is real,' the governor told reporters as the bill neared passage, adding that the impacts 'are still very much being felt, and they've been structurally felt within the state of Maryland.' But the governor also has noted the state's fiscal constraints in a very challenging budget year. Carl Snowden, who is the convener for the Caucus of African-American Leaders, said Friday at the rally that he believed Moore would sign the bill. 'I think there are political advisers who are telling the governor the politics of signing the bill, pro and con, and I think he's taking his time, measuring how he should respond,' Snowden said in an interview. 'But I'm very confident that the bill will come into effect, either as a result of his signing it or allowing it just to become law.' The governor could opt to not sign the measure, and it would become law without his signature. The governor's office did not immediately return an email seeking comment Friday. The bill passed with strong support in the General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats. The House voted 101-36 for the bill, and the Senate approved it 32-13. Both chambers approved the measure with margins large enough to override a veto. Potential reparations outlined in the bill include official statements of apology, monetary compensation, property tax rebates, social service assistance, as well as licensing and permit fee waivers and reimbursement. Reparations also could include assistance with making a down payment on a home, business incentives, childcare, debt forgiveness and tuition payment waivers for higher education. At the rally, Wanika Fisher, who is a member of the Prince George's County Council and is a former Maryland House member, noted a nearby statute of former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall that faces the governor's residence and is steps away from the Maryland State House. The Baltimore native was denied entry into the University of Maryland Law School in 1930 because of his race, but he went on to become the nation's first Black Supreme Court justice. 'It really speaks to why this commission is so vital to address the root causes of structural racism and slavery that occurred here in Maryland,' Fisher, a Democrat, said, also noting the state's rich Black history and birthplace of renowned abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Last year, California lawmakers passed some of the nation's most ambitious legislation aimed at atoning for a legacy of racist policies that drove racial disparities for Black people. None of the bills provided widespread direct payments to Black Americans. Instead, California lawmakers approved the return of land or compensation to families whose property was unjustly seized by the government, and issuing a formal apology. New York City lawmakers approved legislation last year to study the city's significant role in slavery and consider reparations to descendants of enslaved people.
